Hunters and Guardians
by IggySparkleBooty
Summary: Ratchet and Clank receive a mysteriously coded message. Is responding to the sender's message more trouble than it's worth, though?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Posting this is a little unusual for me, normally I wait until I've outlined the story and have mostly finished it before I even think about posting it. As you can imagine, the result is that I never post anything ever. I find something very therapeutic about writing and instantly receiving feedback from a fanfiction, which I haven't done in a very long time. So this is kind of a present to myself, and I'm just going to free write and post it. As a result, I'm not really one-hundred percent certain where this story is going and most of the chapters are probably going to be really short (like this one) and all chapters will probably have some time gaps in between when I post them. This was just a warning, so I'll stop my rambling and let you get to the story. I hope you enjoy, and reviews and criticism are more than welcome and appreciated.**

 **Authors Note End**

"Can you hand me that….uh" Ratchet pointed towards a pile of junk and snapped his fingers as he tried to remember the name. Clank, having a vague idea of what he needed, grabbed the appropriate part and slid it under the ship in Ratchet's direction. "Yeah, that thing. Thanks, pal."

He continued working quietly as he focused on installing a new navigation system into Aphelion. With a few more vague directions between Clank and Ratchet and a final turn of his wrench, the system was installed.

Ratchet slid out from under the ship, wiping the the sweat from his brow. "Those are always such a pain to get in there, or at least the ones with a warp drive are."

"Now we can find where that code was coming from." Clank said.

"Aphelion." Ratchet spoke. "Can you find the source of that code we received earlier now?"

"Processing…" She spoke. "...Unable to locate source."

"Well so much for shelling out all those extra bolts." Ratchet groaned.

"Perhaps I can try decoding it again." Clank suggested.

"You said you couldn't, though."

"I was not able to decode it upon receiving it, that is true. However, I think I might be able to now that we have access to better suited technology."

"Well," Ratchet scratched the back of his head. "It's not like we have anything to lose."

"I will get started right away, then." Clank said, making his way towards a computer at least three times his size. He began typing out commands as quickly as his little robot fingers would let him.

Ratchet tried waiting out of sheer polite obligation. A few minutes passed until it became clear that this was going to take some time and it wasn't long before he found the his eyelids were getting heavy. He found a comfy looking chair and fell asleep almost instantly.

x

"Ratchet." Clank said, shaking Ratchet awake.

"Huh? What?" He jumped in his seat, his brain not quite awake yet.

"I have finished." Clank reported.

"Oh," Ratchet stood up and stretched. "That took you longer than normal."

"It was rather complicated." Clank went back over to the computer. "Whoever it was that was attempting to contact us was trying to do so in secret."

"Let's just hope they're friendly." Ratchet said as he followed. He noticed it was night time already.

"Displaying message, now." Clank pressed a button, a pale, blue hologram lit up before them. The projection was staticy, it was safe to assume that whoever sent them the message was doing so from a primitive planet. The static began to clear up as the sender mumbled something incoherent.

"Ratchet, is that…?"

Ratchet's eyes went wide. "Azimuth?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Ratchet…I know this isn't going to be easy for you to believe, but…" Azimuth glanced down at the ground. "Something must have happened at The Great Clock. I don't know what's going on, but, I think we both know that I shouldn't be here right now." Ratchet's ears twitched. "It's best if the universe believes that I'm still dead, so I can only hope you were able to decode this message." A series of numbers replaced Azimuth's face. " I'm displaying coordinates in the Vela sector. This is where I'm hiding out." Azimuth's face reappeared. "You don't have much reason to trust me, Ratchet, but I believe something has gone wrong in The Clock. You and Clank are the only chance we've got at fixing this." Alister disappeared as a female's voice stated "Message: End."

Ratchet swallowed hard. He didn't hesitate to get Aphelion ready to go back out.

"Ratchet." Clank said, closing the hologram. "I know what you're thinking, but it's statistically impossible for General Azimuth to still be alive."

Ratchet silently opened up the ship and scanned it for damage, ignoring Clank completely.

"It very well could be a trap." he added.

"You don't know that…" Ratchet muttered.

"Even if it is Alister…" Clank started, but thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea to finish his sentence. He could never trust someone who could so easily murder his best friend. Ratchet seemed expectant for whatever excuse Clank had so he quickly came up with something else. "If something was wrong with the clock, Sigmund would notify me."

"Maybe he doesn't know about it yet. Maybe it's something even the computers can't catch."

"Ratchet…"

"Look, if there's even the slightest possibility that Azimuth is still alive…" He trailed off, looking at the ground like a scolded puppy before going back to work.

Clank didn't feel right about this, but he knew at this point that it was hopeless to try and convince him otherwise. At the very least, he could help get Aphelion ready for flight. He grabbed a tool he knew Ratchet would need soon and handed it to him.

He gave Clank a small smile as he grabbed it.

Clank stood by until he would become useful again. "I'm unsure of how trustworthy General Azimuth really is. At the very least, I hope you will exercise caution."

Ratchet's smile vanished. "I will. He may have stopped The Clock from destroying the universe, but he was still the cause."

Clank was starting to feel a little better. "I know you still blame yourself for what happened, I am just worried you might allow your guilt to put you at risk for letting your guard down."

Ratchet slammed Aphelion's hood harder than what was necessary. "Are we ready to go?"

"I did not mean to-"

"It's fine." Ratchet interrupted, getting inside the ship. "Let's just get going."

"Clearly it is not fine." Clank pressed. "You do realize that if anyone is at fault in this situation, it is the general. You do not need to blame yourself for his actions."

"I said we're going." Ratchet wasted no time firing up the engine.

Clank knew when a conversation was over. Hesitantly, he climbed into to ship without a peep.

Ratchet grabbed hold of the controls, but allowed the ship to purr as he circled his thumb around the tip of the steering wheel. "Look." He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that... I don't know how I should feel about this."

"It is okay, Ratchet. If this is really General Azimuth, then it is most likely difficult for him, too."

"You're probably right." He sighed.

"I usually am." Clank said confidently.

"You wish…" Ratchet said with a playful smile. It quickly faded, however, as he looked at the sky in front of them, wringing his hands around the controls. He took a deep breath and sighed deeply out his mouth.

"Ratchet…" Clank said softly. He didn't realise how deep in thought Ratchet actually was until he saw him jump in his seat at the sound of his voice.

"Yeah…?" He answered after calming himself down.

"It is reassuring that you are feeling so cautious about this, but it is going to be alright. I will be here with you the whole time."

His smile returned, if only a small one. "Thanks, buddy."

Clank returned a small nod.

"Guess I can't stall forever…" Ratchet returned his attention to the controls.

Flipping a few switches and with some pressure on the throttle they began take off, reaching the edge of the atmosphere before activating the hyperdrive, sending them speeding off for the Vela Sector.

The duration of the ride was almost completely silent. Ratchet remained deep in thought while Clank, not wanting to disturb the peace, remained quiet. As they approached a somewhat larger than average moon, Aphelion alerted them that they were approaching their destination.

"This is it?" Ratchet questioned. "This place looks like it couldn't sustain organic life for two minutes, let alone be a hideout."

"My databases suggest that there was a time when lifeforms took refuge here. Very little history has been archived, but it is possible that a few facilities might have remained operational throughout the years." Clank informed.

As they positioned to land, there were small shacks and vendors that had long since rusted away, proving that Clank was right. "Do you think he's inside one of those little shacks?" Ratchet questioned.

"It is hard to say. I'm having difficulty tracking his position."

"Remind me to check your scanners when this is over. There might be something here that's messing with you." Ratchet said as he landed on a mostly clear part of the moon.

"That could very well be the case." said Clank. "Most metals that have been left here seem to be rusting. It might be corrupting my sensors."

"Don't worry, I'll try to make this quick." Ratchet said, securing his oxygen helmet over his head. He locked it into place and jumped out of the ship, Clank following suit as Ratchet helped him onto his back.

"Ready for this, buddy?" Ratchet asked.

"I think you should be asking yourself that." Clank answered.

"Right…" He huffed. "Don't worry, I got this…"

Ratchet moved forward, ears perked high as he listened for anything strange. Something about this makeshift village gave him the creeps. Outfitting his Constructo Pistol, he eyed the shacks just in case something was still living in it that was waiting for their next meal.

Blankets and rocks seemed to occupy most of the them. Every once and awhile a small cloth doll or metallic pan was seen abandoned inside. Not much was left to suggest the type of culture the species that once occupied the moon had.

Some planks of wood that had once been a shack had fallen, blocking their path. Ratchet traversed over them, each cracking under his feet as he stepped on them. After passing over the wood, the shacks began to sink in, some lopsided, others completely destroyed. A sudden noise behind them made Ratchet's ear twitch as he swiveled around, targeting his gun at what he believed was the source of the noise.

"Did you see anything, Clank?" He stepped a little closer.

"Some rocks shifted. But nothing more." He answered.

Ratchet stepped closer to the pile of rocks in question. Charging his pistol, he prepared for something to jump out and attack.

"Ratchet!" Clank suddenly cried out.

He was quick to whip around, some kind of snake-like robot came slithering towards them. As it approached it raised its body, opening its mouth and displaying razors that moved around in a circular motion. It lunged at Ratchet's head, but he was quick enough to shoot it straight in the mouth, causing it to power down and fall to the ground. The sounds of turning razors returned as more of the robotic snakes became alerted to their presence, hastily slithering towards them.

"We must have triggered some kind of defensive system." Clank said.

Ratchet shot a few more, aiming for their heads when their mouths weren't exposed, which seemed to work just as well. It wasn't long until there was a small army of them circling around. Ratchet managed to keep up with their growing numbers, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Three of them lunged forward all at once. Unable to react in time, he was forced to swing at them with his wrench. He managed to damage them enough that they began malfunctioning and spasming on the ground, but it wasn't powerful enough to kill their life source. As he aimed at one that was becoming dangerously close, another snake had managed to lunge at his pistol, knocking it out of his hand and sending it into the swarm. Ratchet felt a sudden stinging pain in his hand, one of the razors from the snake's mouth managed to cut through his glove.

"Things aren't looking so good." Ratchet panted.

He swung his wrench in desperation as they continued to close in. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last like this. Another four of them looked like they all might attack at the same time again. Double-handing his wrench, Ratchet prepared to swing as hard as he could. They lunged forward just as he predicted, but he only managed to damage two of them, the others latched onto his wrench and started chomping their way up. He whacked his wrench against the ground, causing them to split open, but the time wasted trying to get them off caused them to become even more surrounded. Some were beginning to get close enough that they started nipping at his feet and tail.

Ratchet began desperately searching for a target to swingshot, but anything that looked remotely attachable was too close to the ground and would only drag them through the swarm.

"I can only get so many of them at a time." Ratchet shouted as he smashed a few that were trying to take a bite out of his tail.

"Hold on." Clank activated his propellers, sending them up as the snakes dove forward, trying to grab hold of the duo before they could get away.

There was a line of electric wire bridging two shacks together that luckily no longer had charge. Ratchet managed to grab on, but the wood the shacks were built out of had started to rot. They would have to be quick if they didn't want to become robot food. Ratchet started moving down the wire to reach a rooftop, all while snakes launched themselves upwards, trying to latch onto whatever they could. As they drew closer to the rooftop, the wire began dipping as the wood started bending and snapping. Ratchet tried moving quicker but the wire bounced suddenly as a large chunk flew from the wooden pillar, causing him to lose his grip in one hand. He was able to steady himself again, but the wire hung much lower than before, drooping him further away from the rooftop and bringing him closer to the swarm of snakes still eagerly jumping at him. Tucking his feet and tail in before they could become a snack he tried reaching for the edge of the roof. He had sunk too low, though, and swinging towards it would only cause the wood to break further.

"Any suggestions?" Ratchet asked somewhat desperately.

"Let go." Clank said.

"What? Clank, I don't know if you noticed, but this isn't really the time for jokes."

"I am not joking. It is safe to let go now."

"You'd better be right about this…" Ratchet mumbled. Holding his breath, he trusted his friend, letting go of the wire as he dropped to the ground. Instincts told him to brace for a hundred snakes to jump at him and make him their dinner, but as he looked around he saw that they were all slithering away, retreating inside of the shacks.

Before Ratchet could ask what the heck happened a voice spoke, startling him and putting him back on guard. "Those robots were built to follow a specifically programed leader. Kill that unit and the rest retreat."

The source of the voice came from an old, grey, Lombax, a snake significantly larger than the rest was smashed to pieces under his staff-like wrench. "A considerably large design flaw, if you ask me, but it seems to have worked in our favor."

Ratchet stared at him, trying to take in the fact that who he was seeing was really there in front of him. His brain couldn't make the connection. Even after preparing himself for this, he just couldn't believe this was possible.

The older Lombax moved forward to better greet the two. "It's been a long time, Ratchet."


	3. Chapter 3

Ratchet stared at the grey Lombax in front of him. It was really him. General Alister Azimuth was really alive. He couldn't believe it. There was a part of him that didn't want to believe it. "General…" He breathed. A million questions came to his mind at once, but he couldn't force a single word out.

"You seem almost as surprised as I am." Azimuth's mouth formed a half-hearted smile. Hesitantly, he approached Ratchet, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. He gave a small nod, if only because there weren't words to describe the variety of emotions they were feeling. With a few sincere pats on Ratchet's shoulder Azimuth turned and started making his way through the rows of rundown shacks.

Ratchet instinctively followed. "How much do you remember?"

"More than I wish to." He answered in a dark tone.

Ratchet swallowed hard. Somehow he imagined this reunion being less awkward.

As they approached a strangely shaped rock, Azimuth began slowing his pace. He tapped it with his wrench, mechanical noises could be heard as a section of the ground started moving.

"Whatever inhabited this rock before either had a lot of enemies, or were constantly dealing with asteroids hitting them. Maybe both, judging by the state of some of these shacks." The door stopped halfway through opening, forcing Azimuth to use his wrench as a crowbar to pry it open. "I managed to find a few of these underground bunkers. This is the only one I found that still functions, though." Azimuth started walking down the steps leading inside once the opening became large enough. "You're safe to take your helmet off in here, oxegen still manages to get pumped in. I'm not sure where it comes in from, though.

Once Azimuth sealed them inside, Ratchet removed his helmet while Clank hopped off his back. "Man," Ratchet's nose scrunched up as an overbearing musty smell hit his nostrils. "Maybe I should put it back on."

"You'll get use to it." Azimuth said.

"This technology is rather old." Clank commented. "This hasn't been used for at least a hundred years, if not more."

"It's not much, but it's better than nothing." Azimuth said. "Not great for detecting problems in the space-time continuum, however."

"Do you know how you… Well… you know?" Ratchet felt weird implying that Azimuth had died, clearly he was very healthy now.

"Came back?" Azimuth finished. Ratchet nodded. "No idea. It just kind of… happened. I don't really know how to explain it, other than if felt very strange. I woke up back in that trash heap where we first met. It felt like nothing had ever changed, but I remembered everything that happened. I don't have proof that this is the clock's doing, but I feel like it's the only rational explanation."

"I am not certain if the clock is capable of doing such things, General." Clank commented. "I believe we should stay open to multiple possibilities."

"Well if you're not sure, then it remains our focus." Azimuth argued.

"Look, it doesn't hurt to have some theories, right?" Ratchet said, feeling the need to step in before an argument could break out. "You don't know everything about the clock yet, Clank. This could just be an oddity."

"I suppose you do have a point…" Clank said. "Though, I would hope that it would have the ability to bring my father back as well."

Ratchet felt a slight sting of guilt as the tone of his robotic friend made him realize that he probably felt like he was being ganged up on. "But… Clank is the clock's caretaker, so he knows more about the clock than either of us ever could." He quickly added.

Clank's head rose slightly, making Ratchet feel a little better.

"That's why we need him." Azimuth said. "He can help us navigate it."

Ratchet could tell by the quick glance Clank gave him that he didn't think Azimuth should be allowed back inside the clock. He couldn't help but agree.

"Look, Azimuth. Maybe it's not such a good idea to-"

"Stop." Azimuth demanded. "I already know what you're going to say.."

"It's not that we don't trust you… Well, it is that we don't trust you." Ratchet stumbled. "It's just, well, we really can't risk it again."

"You were trying to do what you believed to be right." Clank helped. "We are just worried you might believe that this is your second chance."

Azimuth put his hand up. "Boys, it's fine. I understand… I wouldn't trust me either."

"It's not like that, we just-"

"Ratchet, please. You don't have to make excuses for my sake. I realize my mistake now, but I won't ask you for forgiveness, I don't deserve it. I will stay behind if that's what you think is best."

Ratchet went silent, unable to keep eye contact with Azimuth, he looked at the ground. "I really do think it's what's best..."

With a slight nod of his head, Azimuth turned to power up a computer, a fan from somewhere inside it started blowing, blanketing the whole room with a layer of dust and causing Ratchet to cough as he blinked his eyes in an attempt to see properly. "This equipment is more than a little outdated." Azimuth said. "It'll probably be a minute before it finishes its startup."

Ratchet ran a finger across a keyboard, covering the tip of his finger in a thick layer of dust. "Outdated? What I think you meant was that it's past its expiration date."

"Your hand…" Azimuth sat up, ignoring Ratchet's joke.

"What about it?" He said looking at it.

"It's been injured."

"Oh, yeah, that. It's fine. Just a nik." He brushed off.

"I believe that it may be a little more than a nik, Ratchet." Clank lectured.

"It's fine. I've handled worse." He said "It was just when that snake knocked my gun out of my hand. It'll heal on its own."

"One of them pierced the skin? You better let me take a look at that." Azimuth pressured. "Besides, I'm not really asking your permission."

With a somewhat exhausted sigh, Ratchet sat down in front of Azimuth, holding his hand out for him.

"Lucky for you, whatever inhabited these bunkers were smart enough to prepare every chamber with a medkit. I can only assume that Nanotech hadn't been invented yet at the time, or at least not supplied in mass quantities like it is today. I couldn't find it anywhere on this rock."

"These things really are old, then. I'm surprised it's even still in one piece." Ratchet commented, looking around the room as Azimuth knelt down in front of him, removing his glove to clean out the wound.

"Part of the razor broke off inside. How are you feeling?"

"Um, alright, I guess? You realize I've taken a few hits before, right?"

Azimuth gave him an impatient look. "I ask because I managed to grab one to study it. Some of the razor teeth had pockets of poison inside.

"What?!" Ratchet's ears perked in alarm. "Now you tell me this?"

"I told you it was more than a nik…" Clank said in a 'I told you so' kind of tone.

Ratchet shot him an unamused glare.

"Hold still." Azimuth demanded. "I need to get it out."

As the shard was extracted, Ratchet's ears twitched as he tried not to react to the piercing pain in his hand. The shard was bigger than he thought it'd be, but it wasn't anything he hadn't experienced before. "See? I said I could handle it."

Azimuth rolled his eyes. "Gotta play the tough-guy, huh?." He stood back up and grabbed a large metal box from the wall. Opening it, he took out a clear bottle. Unscrewing it, he poured it over Ratchet's hand, a mix of clear liquid and blood dripped to the floor.

Ratchet squirmed as it burned his hand.. "Is this suppose to be helping?"

"It's disinfectant. I guess with Nanotech around, there's not much need for this stuff anymore. The fact that it's hurting just means it's working."

Ratchet looked at his hand expectantly, waiting for the wound to begin healing. Azimuth chuckled at him. "I'm not sure what you're waiting for. It'll be awhile, or at least until we get you some proper medical treatment."

Ratchet was so busy examining the gash in his hand that he didn't notice Azimuth had a roll of bandages in hand. "These guys really were old-fashioned if you're bustin' those out."

"Careful what you call old-fashioned, boy. We still had to use these a few times when I was your age."

"Right, so… old-fashioned." Ratchet said with a lopsided grin.

Azimuth smirked."Very funny. You know, you should be nicer to someone who's treating your wounds, my hand might just slip and make it even worse."

"He would probably deserve it." Clank added.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Ratchet defended.

Azimuth chuckled as he started cleaning away any blood that dried outside the wound. "I didn't realize how quiet this place was until you two showed up."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Ratchet.

Azimuth's smirk softened into a smile. "No, I would say it's a rather good thing."

The room grew quiet again. The silence caused Ratchet's chest to tighten as it allowed the thoughts he pushed into the back of his mind to resurface, reminding him that this scenario shouldn't be possible right now. He quickly found something else to talk about. "...About that poison you mentioned earlier."

"Don't worry about it." Azimuth assured. "If you had been poisoned, you would have felt it by now."

"You know, I'd be really nice if you told me these types of things sooner." He breathed.

Azimuth laughed. Ratchet couldn't help but wonder how his father dealt with him and his sense of humor. Traces of Azimuth's amusement began to fade as he finished cleaning and started wrapping up Ratchet's hand.

"It wasn't suppose to be like this…" Azimuth sighed.

"Can't you just… rewrap it?" Ratchet asked.

"What? Oh," Azimuth slowed the pace of his wrapping. "No, not the bandage. I meant us…"

"Oh…" Ratchet felt like he should have been prepared for something like this, but somehow he didn't imagine Azimuth being the type to start up a conversation like this. "It's alright. What happened is in the past."

"No, it's not "alright"." He spat. His wrapping was becoming slower and slower. "I just wanted to make things right. Somehow I managed to make it even worse."

Ratchet searched his brain for the right thing to say. "You were just doing what you thought you had to. You just… went too far."

"You make it sound like that's the only thing I did."

Ratchet's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

At this point, Azimuth completely stopped wrapping Ratchet's hand, but refused to look up as though he were still focused. "I don't believe I ever told you this, but, when you were born, right before Tachyon invaded, your mother and father asked me if I would be your godfather. Needless to say, my failure more than likely made them rethink giving me that honor."

Ratchet could feel apart of himself going numb inside from hearing this, why, he wasn't quite sure yet. Something must have given it away that this somehow upset him, though, as he could hear Clank's feet pattering on the metal floor. He was coming closer, as though he was reminding him that he was still there with him.

"When I found out that you survived," Azimuth continued. "I felt like I was being given a second chance. I could give you what was stolen away from you. I could tell you about our culture, and what your mother and father were like. I could have given you home. When I told you that you would always have a family, I meant it."

Ratchet felt his chest get tight. "General, I-"

"I took that away from you too, though" His head dropped hopelessly, he squeezed the ball of bandages in his hand. "I was so focused on trying to fix the past that I didn't think the present mattered anymore. I wanted to see you with your family, like it should have been from the start. I was selfish, and now because of me you'll never have a real family."

"I do have a real family." Ratchet corrected. "I've got Clank, and that's all that matters."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Azimuth relaxed his grip, exhaling. "Right… You and that little robot make a good team. He's not much, but if that's good enough for you..."

"'Not much'...?" Ratchet repeated. "What are you trying to say? That Clank doesn't count as family?"

"I'm trying to say you would have been much better off being raised by a Lombax instead of growing up in a desert by yourself."

"I would have been alone with, or without you." Ratchet said bitterly. "It's not like you tried to find me. At least Clank and I take care of each other."

Azimuth raised his head, his eyes were sharp as he looked Ratchet in the eye. "If I'd known you escaped I would have looked for you. I would have never allowed a child to fend for themselves."

"Maybe I turned out better because of it." Ratchet snapped.

Azimuth's eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring. Ratchet prepared for some kind of retort that he would gladly rebuke. Instead, he watched him back down as his eyes grew softer. "Maybe you did." There was a long pause before he continued wrapping his hand again, finishing as the room was once again filled with a stiff silence. Both Lombaxes brewed in frustration and mixed feelings "How does it feel?" Azimuth finally spoke after tightening the bandages around the wound.

Ratchet squeezed his hand in and out of a fist. "A little snug."

"Don't complain. It'll stop it from bleeding."

Ratchet couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about. It was just a cut on his hand, but he did have a bad habit of neglecting his health when it came to injuries, so he figured maybe it was for the better. He squeezed his fist one more time just to make sure he could grip a gun okay. "Thanks… General."

Azimuth said nothing. Instead he turned around dutifully and began typing on the computer that had finally booted up and was now ready to go. Clank took this opportunity to get closer to Ratchet, looking at him to make sure he was alright after that argument. Ratchet avoided his gaze, not wanting to admit that he was upset. Clank pulled up a chair next to his friend and hopped up, sitting down and reaching over to the young Lombax and patted him on the arm comfortingly. Ratchet couldn't help but smile at least a little at his efforts.

Azimuth turned back around, a map of some sort displayed on screen. "I've been doing my best to figure out what's been going on and I'm pretty sure now that Dr. Nefarious is at the source."

"He's still at it?" Ratchet asked, more exhausted by the idea than surprised. "I thought he'd move past the clock by now."

"He must feel that it's still vulnerable enough to take it over." Azimuth said.

"If you believe that the clock malfunctioning was the cause of resurrecting you, are you implying that Nefarious has already infiltrated it somehow?" Clank asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Azimuth moved aside from the screen so they could see better. "I couldn't do much, but at the very least I was able to scan sections of the galaxy in attempt to find anything that seemed off. I was able to find a space station that looks like it's acting as a warbot factory. I couldn't find evidence of it belonging to Nefarious, at least not from this piece of garbage, but it's not a bad place to start."

"What makes you think Nefarious is behind this?" Ratchet asked.

"I don't have much proof that it is him, but if there's anything I know about him, he likes his robot armies. There's more coming from multiple factories. I just can't track them only using this computer."

"Even if it's not him," Ratchet said, "this might lead us somewhere."

"It wouldn't hurt to try. I assume I'm safe to come with you for this one?" Azimuth asked.

"I'm okay with it, Clank?"

"I don't see why not." He answered.

"Well then, if you two are ready to go, I'll just send the coordinates to your ship. I have mine hiding under a pile of wood. I didn't want anyone to figure out that I was here." He glanced at the floor before turning back around and pressing a few buttons. The computer's screen became black as the fan inside stopped blowing. He did his best to remove any trace that they had been there, patting his hands together once he was finished, sending a cloud of dust into the air, causing Ratchet to go into another coughing fit. "Let's get moving." Azimuth spoke, ignoring Ratchet's coughing.

Once he managed to calm himself down, Ratchet pulled his helmet back on and followed Azimuth out, helping Clank back onto his back as they ventured outside. He helped close the door to the bunker before they made their walk to Azimuth's ship.

The awkward silence they started after their argument clung to them. As irritated as Ratchet felt, he still felt more uncomfortable by the thoughts running through his brain. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but, do you think there might be a reason you're alive?" He asked, scratching his ear. "It might help us figure out what's going on, and if it really is the clock."

"You and your questions." Azimuth sighed. "I really don't know. I can only assume a time anomaly is the cause."

They managed to find Azimuth's ship, sitting in the middle of a wrecked portion of the village, slabs of wood stacked to form a tent over it. Ratchet helped throw a plank off. "Do you think Nefarious caused it somehow?"

Azimuth looked away. "Probably."

Ratchet threw another slab. "Maybe he meant for this to happen?"

"Why would he?" He threw a few off into the pile Ratchet made.

"I dunno, Nefarious is a weird guy."

Azimuth slid the last plank of wood off. "Listen, can we change subject?"

It sounded strange to Ratchet to hear his voice sound so wounded, not even when he was describing what happened to the Lombaxes did he sound so defensive. "Um, sure, yeah… Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine." He rested his hand on his ship's hood. "I just... " he looked away as he walked closer to Ratchet, patting his arm sympathetically. "I'm sorry." Without another word he popped open the cockpit, getting inside. "I'll wait for you." He closed himself inside, firing it up as Ratchet turned to find his own ship.

"Do you have any idea what that was all about?" He asked.

"He might feel guilty that he was brought back instead of someone he felt deserved it more. Perhaps your father." Clank answered.

"Yeah, maybe," Ratchet's ears dropped a little. "That would make sense. I didn't think he knew any emotions other than determined and proud, and sometimes shame. It felt weird hearing him so… I dunno, hurt? Do you think I pushed him too far?"

"I think you are fine wanting to know. As you said, it may help as figure out what is going on."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." He said, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of guilt.

"Are you alright, though?" Clank asked.

"I think all that dust gave me a headache, but other than that, I'm fine."

"No, I meant are you feeling okay after seeing Azimuth again?"

"Oh," Ratchet breathed. He stepped on a wooden board, snapping it under his weight. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Clank made a "humph" noise at his response.

"What was that for?" Ratchet asked, ducking under some planks.

"You've never been good at lying."

Ratchet fell silent. They finally reached the ship, after assisting Clank off his back, they both got inside before starting up the engines. He contacted Azimuth's ship. "We're ready, General."

"Perfect. I sent you the coordinates. I'll follow behind, just in case."

"Alright. I'll let you know if I see anything out the ordinary." The transmission ended. Wasting no time, Ratchet took off, debris flying around them as they left the ghost town.

 **Authors Note:**

 **So earlier, Azimuth said, "When I told you that you would always have a family, I meant it." I remember him saying something similar to that in a transmission to Ratchet during flight. I'm not 100% sure if he actually said family, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find a quote of his message and I really didn't want to replay Crack in Time just to get to that little bit. Apologies for my laziness. Hopefully I wasn't too far off with that.**

 **Also, I want to give a big thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. It really means a lot to me and inspires me to keep writing.**


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